Laura Dukes
Laura Dukes is a DMS agent in the Video Games Division. She is written by PoorCynic. Appearance Laura is 5'6" and a little overweight for her size. She has shoulder-length red hair and a slightly bent nose thanks to an improperly healed break. There is a long scar down the left side of her face, which crosses over her eye and mouth. This has left her with an electronic eye (blue-green, as opposed to her natural blue) and a crooked lip. Said electronic eye grants her some enhanced senses. She usually wears a baggy black sweatshirt and a pair of blue jeans. Her left arm up to the shoulder has been replaced with a cybernetic copy that gives her enhanced punching and grip strength. It is bare metal painted rust-red. Additional images of Laura may be found here. Personality Some people would describe Laura as "self-sufficient;" everyone else would call her "an uncontrollable pain in the rear." She's a consummate rule breaker and delights in openly defying the orders of the Flowers (up to a point; she isn't suicidal, after all). She relies a great deal on twitch reflexes and often will leap into a situation without thinking. That being said, those who get to know her say she is incredibly loyal to those she works with and is often willing to put herself on the line to bring a mission to a successful close. Laura is a hardcore gamer, with all the baggage that comes with such a title. She will stay up for hours on end playing video games, powered only by sheer determination and energy drinks. Her devotion to this hobby has made her view large alterations of video game canon to be one of the worst crimes a Mary Sue can commit. She has expressed a fear of having her body changed without her knowledge, which is something that apparently stems back to the 2009 Gender Bender incident. She also has an intense hatred of high school AUs. Her favorite weapons are a pair of daggers that she carries with her on every mission, no matter where it might actually take place. No one quite knows where she got them. She also usually carries a backup M1911 pistol and a snub revolver in continua that allow for such weapons. Agent History Laura was recruited to the PPC in late 2007 HST and assigned to the Department of Intelligence. Her tenure there was marked with incident; 142 formal complaints were issued about her from her coworkers for myriad reasons including foul language, dereliction of duty, aggravated assault, and failing to refill the coffee pot after taking the last cup. She was not present during the Macrovirus Epidemic and following Mary Sue invasion due to being on an extended in-universe investigation of the Kingdom Hearts Generic High School AU at the time. She was involved in the 2009 Gender Bender incident to what extent is not known. Laura was eventually transferred into the Department of Mary Sues in May 2010 after knocking out the DoI computer database by downloading a pirated version of the Sam and Max video game. Rumor has it that the only reason she was not fired is because the SO lost a bet with the Sub Rosa and was forced to take in Laura as payment. She was partnered with Danny Richardson upon her transfer into the Video Games Division of the DMS. The two of them were also assigned the intern Rachel Calendar for training. In mid-September 2010, she and Danny were temporarily reassigned to the Department of Improbable AUs following a premature exorcism of a Mass Effect bad parody and their subsequent taking of a week-long vacation. Their new supervisor at the DIAU was Cornelius, an artificial intelligence program. This arrangement lasted until November 2010. In May 2011, Laura helped defend the International Academy of Hetalia Fanfiction from an invasion of Mary Sues. She was awarded the Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Mochi (GCMG) for her assistance. Laura suffered severe injuries during the course of a mission in June 2012; specifically, the lost of her left eye and arm. After receving cybernetic replacements for both, she returned to active duty with her new partner, James Pittman. In 2016, she took part in both the third and fourth seasons of the PPC Hunger Games, placing 25th and 72nd respectively. She has two minis: Wich the mini-Tank and Commander Shepherd the mini-Colossus. General Timeline 2007 * October - Recruited into the PPC and assigned to the Department of Intelligence 2008 * Mid-February through April - Assigned to an extended in-field investigation of the Kingdom Hearts Generic High School AU setting; recalled following the Mary Sue Invasion 2009 * January 31st - Involved in the Gender Bender incident 2010 * May - Transferred into the Department of Mary Sues; partnered with Danny Richardson ** "You Want Nobody To Love" ** "Dead Weight" * June - Laura and Danny take on two missions involving the notorious Sandwich!Stu ** "With a Side of Chips and a Soda" ** "Night of the Living Stu" * Early September - Prematurely ended a Bad Parody mission before taking a week off to visit the Airbenderverse ** "A Night at the Movies" * Mid-September through November - Temporarily reassigned to the Department of Improbable AUs under Agent Cornelius as punishment for "vacation;" recorded missions include: ** "Buy Victory Bonds!" (first mission with Cornelius) ** "A Failing Grade" ** "We Were Sailing Along" (final mission with Cornelius) 2011 * April - Began taking Intern Rachel Calendar into the field on select missions ** "Stus. Stus Never Change." * May - Assisted in the defense of the IAHF during an invasion of Mary Sues * June ** "Free Time - Weapon of Choice" (interlude) 2012 * May - Forms Team Best of the Best in the All-HQ Australian Indoor-Rules Quiddich League ** Recruitment story ** "BOTB vs Westilldon'thaveanameyet" * June - Loses her left eye and arm during a mission; is fitted with cybernetic replacements * Late 2012 - Recovers from replacement procedure in full and returns to active duty with new partner James Pittman 2013 * September ** "FNGs and Vets" (interlude) 2016 * January ** Participated in the Third PPC Hunger Games; came in 25th * September ** Participated in the Fourth PPC Hunger Games; came in 72nd Mission Reports The following missions are not necessarily in chronological order. If you want to read the missions as they occurred, please consult the above timeline. Home: Video Game Division Partnered with Danny Richardson * "Prelude - Player Two Has Joined The Game" ** Laura gets transferred into the DMS and decides to give her rookie partner Danny a quick video game quiz. * "You Want Nobody To Love" (Kingdom Hearts) ** Organization XIII throws a pool party to welcome their new Mary Sue members. Guess which two Assassins decide to crash? * "Dead Weight" (Left 4 Dead) ** Laura and Danny head into the Left 4 Dead continuum to deal with a Survivor!Stu. * "With a Side of Chips and a Soda" (Left 4 Dead) ** A mishap with the Words results in a bizarre Stu, an irritated Danny, and an incredibly amused Laura. * "Night of the Living Stu" (Left 4 Dead) ** Sandwich!Stu is back, and it's up to Laura and Danny to bury him once and for all. * "A Night at the Movies" (Mass Effect) ** Laura and Danny are promised a week off provided they handle a scriptfic from the Department of Bad Parody. * "Stus. Stus Never Change." (Fallout) ** Laura and Danny take Intern Rachel along on a training run into the Wasteland to take out a rather odious Marty Stu. * "Free Time - Weapon of Choice" (interlude) ** Laura gives Rachel a pop quiz in all matters of weaponry. Partnered with James Pittman *"FNGs and Vets" (interlude) **Danny Richardson sets straight a group of new PPC recruits. Partnered with Danny and Cornelius * "Buy Victory Bonds!" (Kingdom Hearts) ** Laura, Danny, and DIAU agent Cornelius find themselves in the middle of a wartime romance between Vexen and Marluxia. * "A Failing Grade" (Kingdom Hearts) ** It's back to school for the DIAU crew as they try to rescue three Organization XIII members from a gang of Sues. * "We Were Sailing Along..." (Kingdom Hearts) ** An Axel!Sue (yes, Sue) is by far the least horrifying thing Laura and Danny are forced to face in their last mission with Cornelius and the DIAU. AU Stories *"Five Stages" (interlude) **Five short AU stories in which agents attempt to deal with grief and loss. MSTs * "And Not a Sandwich in Sight" (Mass Effect) Category:PPC Agents Category:Department of Mary Sues Category:Video Games Division